What do you get when you cross a Dr V with an Apple pencil? (Aside from bad art, but that goes without saying.) A new set of cartoons, that’s what!

When I was in vet school, I was (rightfully) proud of my fledgling career choice. I shouted it from the rooftops: I’m about to be a vet! It’s so cool! Check it out! Tell me everything about your guinea pig!

But of course, with age comes both wisdom and boundaries, as well as an understanding that many people lack both. So without further ado, here are but three of the many reasons that I avoid telling people what I do unless absolutely necessary.

“Toby” Our Beagle/Walker Hound mix rescue has proven harder to train than our two Great Danes were because he is “food motivated” and our Danes just want to please us.

I tried several favors of Halo doggie treats. Toby LOVES them all and we love that they are grain free!

Now, he stands at the pantry door and whimpers until I open it and reach in for his treat. If I try to pass off anything other than his Halo treats, he turns his head and won’t look at me until I get the right bag out.

I have even tried putting another “name brand” treat in the Halo bag but he knows. HE KNOWS the difference. I never feel guilty giving him treats when they are HALO!

Thank you Mom2danes for the review of Halo Healthsome Vegetarian Biscuits; we are happy Toby is enjoying them.

As pet owners, we are responsible for maintaining our pet’s health. Part of that is ensuring that they are safe and warm during the cold season. Jordan Walker, the lead content curator of Coops and Cages, shares tips on how you can accomplish this.

Dogs like the winter season just as much as their owners do. In the same way, however, they are also affected by the cold when they are outside frolicing in the snow. In addition, not all dogs are used to the cold and have sufficient fur for protection. As such, it is important to think about their well-being when the cold season starts. Here are some ways you can protect your dog from the cold.

Keep Them Indoors
Technically, the best solution to a cold draft is to keep your dogs inside the home. In order to keep them from bustling with energy, take them out for exercise and walks, but never leave them outside, especially when the temperature drops.

Food and Water
Keeping oneself warm takes a lot of energy. With that, dogs are expected to need more food and water for such occassions. The water should be checked regularly as it can freeze over time, leaving the pet thirsty and unable to help themselves.

Outdoor Care
If you feel that you must leave them outdoors, there are certain requirements needed in order for them to brave the cold. Ideally, the ceiling of their outdoor shelter should be 2 to 3 inches taller than the dog’s sitting height. Likewise, it is advised to have an interior that is 36 square inches for every 1 inch of dog height. It would also do to have the entrance off-center. This way, the dog can curl up in one corner, far away from the opening.
If there is another building on the property, such as a garage or shed, that would make a better place to house the shelter rather than the bare ground.

Keep Them Indoors
Technically, the best solution to a cold draft is to keep your dogs inside the home. In order to keep them from bustling with energy, take them out for exercise and walks, but never leave them outside, especially when the temperature drops.

Food and Water
Keeping oneself warm takes a lot of energy. With that, dogs are expected to need more food and water for such occassions. The water should be checked regularly as it can freeze over time, leaving the pet thirsty and unable to help themselves.

Outdoor Care
If you feel that you must leave them outdoors, there are certain requirements needed in order for them to brave the cold. Ideally, the ceiling of their outdoor shelter should be 2 to 3 inches taller than the dog’s sitting height. Likewise, it is advised to have an interior that is 36 square inches for every 1 inch of dog height. It would also do to have the entrance off-center. This way, the dog can curl up in one corner, far away from the opening.
If there is another building on the property, such as a garage or shed, that would make a better place to house the shelter rather than the bare ground.

Protect Vital Body Parts
When walking them around the neighborhood or even when indoors, dogs can still feel the cold, especially if they are not accustomed to it. There are a ton pet aids you can use to downplay the cold they are enduring. Here are some of them:
• Foot wax – Dogs paws are always in contact with the ground. During winter, it becomes all the more important to protect these. Foot wax or paw wax is a great way to keep their paws soft and pain free. This is especially helpful when the dog is always mobile, such as during walks. On the other hand, pet safe salt should be spread across the driveway if the dog is simply at home.
• Coats/sweaters – Dog coats and sweaters are really nifty to have. During regular days, you can use them to accessorize your dog when taking them out for walks. For the cold season, these make great buffers between them and the extreme cold.

There are numerous ways to tell if a dog is suffering from hypothermia. The biggest telltale sign is that their temperature gets really low and they start shivering. Also, their pupils start dilating and their breathing visibly slows down. When this happens, be sure you are there to warm your dog up right away. If you need to be away, be sure you leave them blankets and towels so that they can help themselves.

Author: Jordan Walker
Jordan is the lead content curator for Coops and Cages as well as other pet-related blogs. His passion for animals is matched with his passion for “attempting” to play the guitar. If you would like to catch more of him, you can visit his Google+ or Twitter accounts.

When I was in college, I decided to conquer my fear of drowning by getting certified in scuba diving. In retrospect, I really had no business being there, but I guess that’s what your twenties is for.

At one point during the training, you have to take your mask entirely off and then get it back on. No biggie, right? I was not a water person and had no idea what was going to happen. When I removed it from my face, my nose filled with water and I found I couldn’t inhale through my regulator. My throat was just closed up.

Of course, I panicked. My instinct was to leap up to the top of the pool as quickly as possible and grab a breath of air, but I forced myself to take a moment, realize the problem, and plug my nose so I could get the mask back on and pass the test. But I never forgot the sheer terror of that first moment when your body is screaming at you, “You’re DROWNING you fool! Fly!”

Lots of diving safety training is about how to get safely to the surface when the poop hits the fan, and one of the most important tenets is to work your way slowly and methodically through your problem so you can surface slowly. Running out of oxygen at depth is a big one. If you come up from the depths too quickly, you risk the bends- when dissolved gases turn into bubbles inside your body as the pressure changes. It’s Not A Good Thing. Remaining calm in a trying moment a good skill to have not just in diving, but in life.

Of all the scary things I have been through since then, the near-misses in the car or the dropped pedicles on a fat dog spay, none hit me with that same physical sense of drowning until one year ago, when I got the news out of the blue that my mother had a brain tumor. I was more than scared. I was terrified. I felt like someone had dropped a weight directly on my lap and plunged me down to the bottom of the ocean.

I get why people tend to freeze, or run in circles when things go haywire. The adrenaline does weird things to your body, and it takes real conscious effort to talk yourself off the ledge. I get now why people flip tables and throw things and run off to the Yukon when it gets to be too much, but of course all that happens when the dust settles is you’re left with a new mess to deal with.

When my mother got sick, that temptation to rush to the surface took the form of the blind panic we get when a loved one is facing death: DO EVERYTHING! Biopsy it now! Chemo! Nuke it! GOGOGOGOGOGOGO. It would have been a mistake.

When she died, I held my breath and prayed my father wouldn’t sell the house immediately and disappear to the woods of Maine (he didn’t.) It would have been a mistake.

It’s been a year of slow surfacing, realizing that like many toxic substances in your body, some types of grief simply need to leach out with time. You really can’t come up before you’re ready.

Last year I gave a talk on mourning customs around the world, and I was struck by the fact that so many belief systems have a structure and framework for mourning, but Christianity, the predominant belief system many of us are most familiar with, has none. In Judaism, the mourning period is divided into the first seven days, the first 30, and the first year. The rules about what you should and should not do during each period serves to protect the grieving heart and also give permission to re-enter the new normal of their life. It’s like a decompression chart for death. Unintentionally I’ve been bobbing along on the same timeframe, getting guidance where I can.

In January, my sister surprised us with the happy news that she decided to get married earlier that day to her long-time partner and soulmate. My mom loved this guy and I knew two things: 1. She would be thrilled; and 2. She would find a way to give them a cake, because that is what my mom did.

My aunt was planning her yearly trip to my sister’s hometown of Vegas right around Easter, and sensing the same need as I did for some sort of event, managed to arrange a surprise get-together of the family this last weekend, complete with- of course- a wedding cake. You surprise us with a marriage, we surprise you with a reception. It’s what Mom would have done.

As we sat together in my cousin’s living room, laughing and sniffling, I looked around and realized this was the first time we had all gathered since my mother’s memorial service. And right then, as if an invisible hand swept by and grabbed me by the shoulders, I realized I had just popped to the surface.

There’s such a sense of relief to that first intake of air, and in that moment, as the tension you forgot was there leaches out of your muscles, nothing else matters. The sky looks different, time has passed, but you’re here, you’re still here, and sometimes, that alone is enough.